


Old Soldiers

by QueenCelina33



Series: Drowned in Ink AU [5]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: AU, Allison is best cartoon daughter, Alternate Universe, Comfort, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Nightmares, batim au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-07 18:34:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16859206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenCelina33/pseuds/QueenCelina33
Summary: Henry never really stopped having nightmares from the war, even after going through the hell of the Ink Machine Incident. Allison awakes to Henry having a bad dream about his time from the war. But she knows that feeling and is there to comfort him.





	Old Soldiers

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys. I have a little late night drabble that I wrote. I wanted to show a little of the father-daughter relationship Allison and Henry have after the Ink Machine Incident. I hope you enjoy, and I enjoyed writing this.

Allison Angel awoke to the sounds of sobbing in her ears. It was very faint, but she could definitely hear it. She looked around, trying to remember where she was. A room with painted light blue walls, in a bed by herself. A clock ticked away on the wall and the furniture made shapes in the dark. She looked at the clock and was able to make out that it was almost eight. Allison blinked with furrowed brows. What had woken her up?

A sudden cry caught her attention and she looked at the open door to her and Tom’s room. It was then she remembered what had happened that day and why she was by herself. The Stein family had stayed in their house most of the day today, playing games and watching television. When the night had come, Linda asked if anyone wanted to go out to eat. Bendy, Boris, Alice, and Tom decided to go with her, but Allison and Henry had stayed home to talk. 

Henry had decided to hit the hay around 7:30 and he headed upstairs to his and Linda’s room. Allison had done the same, heading to her and Tom’s room. The moment she hit the bed, she was out.

Now, she could hear soft cries and knew exactly where they were coming from:

Henry.

Allison threw her legs over the side of her bed and stood, blinking and rubbing her eyes. She then took quiet steps towards the door and out into the hallway. Henry and Linda’s room was down the hall and it didn’t take more than a moment to be at the door and knocking on it. When she didn’t get a response, Allison carefully opened the door.

Henry was lying on the bed with his back turned to Allison. He was shuddering, his cries mixed in with soft coughing. He was curled up under his blankets, clutching onto them as if his life depended on it. 

Allison stepped to the bed, her yellow eyes glowing softly. She tilted her head with a soft frown. Henry must be having a nightmare. It had been quite some time since she had seen him having a bad dream, so whatever this one was about, it had to be serious. The angel was unsure as to whether she should wake him. It might scare him more, but it would stop his bad dream.

The toon placed a hand on Henry’s shoulder. “Henry,” she whispered. There was no response, only more crying. “Henry,” she spoke a little louder, putting both hands on his shoulder. “Henry, wake up. Henry, Henry, please, wake up.” She shook him a tiny bit. “Henry!”

The man’s eyes shot open and he gasped, turning onto his back and sitting up. Henry put a hand on his chest as he breathed heavily. He looked around in a panic, not even seeming to see Allison. After a few minutes of this, Henry let out a shaky sign and closed his eyes. 

Oh, god, another nightmare. He hadn’t had one for a couple of years now and he was shocked it wasn’t about the Ink Machine Incident this time.

“Henry,” Allison asked. She saw Henry turned his gaze to her. “I’m sorry for waking you up, but… you were crying in your sleep.”

Henry looked at her with a passive face, before sighing. “It’s… it’s--alright, Allison. I was actually having a pretty bad dream, so, thank you for waking me.” He sat there, putting his hands on his lap and blinking tears from his eyes, Allison standing by his bedside and keeping a hand on his shoulder. 

When Henry had taken some deep breaths and calmed himself, he heard Allison ask a question.

“Henry… what were you dreaming about?”

Henry fidgeted with his hands a bit. He had told bits and pieces of his time outside the studio and in the war to the toons, but he hadn’t told the whole story to Allison yet. He looked over at her, seeing those yellow eyes filled with worry and curiosity. Henry finally spoke. “I… I had a nightmare about when I was in the war.”

The room was quiet for a second before Allison spoke again. “What… what part?”

“I… I never told you where I got these scars from, did I,” Henry asked, gesturing to the faint pinkish lines on his arms. Allison shook her head and the man closed his eyes. “During the war, I was in a small town being attacked by the Germans. It was sometime close to the end of the war. I was in this town and me and some of the men from my company went into a building. It had been heavily damaged. While we were inside, it collapsed on us and we were trapped. I thought we were goners, but some of the other men from our company saw the collapse and went to rescue us and get help.”

Henry looked up, lost in memory. “I was wounded heavily, all over my arms, legs, and chest. I was carried back to where I could get medical care and I was bedridden for some time. I became sick and nearly died. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, I could barely eat, and I was so weak all over.” He shivered at the memory. “It was the first time I really thought I was going to die during my time in the war.”

Allison looked at Henry with shock on her face, seeing how much he had truly been shaken by this experience. She moved so she was sitting with the man, looking at those bright blue eyes filled with true terror. The angel carefully put a hand on his shoulder again. Henry put a shaky hand on top of hers. 

Allison spoke in a soothing voice, the same voice she had used to talk to Henry and his friends all those years ago in the studio. “Henry… I can’t even begin to imagine what that must have been like, to think that that was where everything would end. I had many close death encounters with Bendy and Susie, but I always knew Tom would be there to help. He’s rarely ever left my side. But… to not know if someone was coming to help you, or if you were going to survive… that must have been terrifying.”

Henry nodded. “It truly was. I was so scared that I was going to die there. Even when I was being given care, I was so afraid. I just…” The animator turned his head away from Allison, but she gently turned it so he was looking at her again.

Allison suddenly reached over, pulling her father into a tight embrace. She held him close, feeling him stiffen, before he relaxed and put trembling arms around her. Allison held Henry close, before patting his back and releasing him. She smiled that gentle smile of hers. “Henry… I know that dream scared you, but what matters is that you lived through that experience and survived. I know it must have been scary. But, you’re home now. You’re home with us and you’re safe here. You’re safe, you’re okay, and it was just a nightmare, nothing more.”

Henry found himself being oddly relaxed by her words. She continued. “You’re here with us, with Linda and the other toons. And… you have to remember, you can come to me or any of the others when you’re scared or not feeling good. You’re safe here at home, no matter how real those dreams seem.”

The animator found himself no longer tensing after the angel spoke. She was right. He was in a safe place. The war was over and he was living a peaceful life. He didn’t have to fear anything anymore. Henry smiled, tears forming in his eyes. He felt… so much better now. He felt at peace. He saw Allison hold out her arms and he wrapped his around her again. She rubbed his back in little circles as she held him close.

Henry managed to get some small words out. “Thank you, Allison. You’ve been there for me a lot since the incident, and I couldn’t ask for a better daughter. You’re just… you’ve been through so much and the fact that you can bring comfort to someone so easily helps put me at ease. I promise, if we’re alone again and I need to talk to someone, I’ll come to you.”

Allison smiled and broke the embrace. She chuckled and stood. “Well, I’ll leave you to sleep, Henry.” She turned to leave, but words stopped her.

“Allison? Can you… can you stay here for a bit?”

The angel turned back around to see Henry giving her a pleading gaze. She tilted her head in question and he fiddled a bit with the blanket. “I… truth be told… I don’t like to be alone. Especially when I’m going to sleep. Can… can you stay here? At least until I fall asleep?”

Allison smiled and pulled a chair from the corner of the room. She set it next to the bed and responded with, “I can certainly do that, Henry.”

It didn’t take more than a few minutes of her holding his hand and singing a small lullaby to Henry before he fell asleep once more. Once he was out, she gently kissed Henry’s hand and whispered, “Sweet dreams… Dad.”

As she left the room and headed to her own bedroom, Allison couldn’t help but feel some sense of peace. She knew that Henry would likely come to her if he had anymore bad dreams while they were alone… but honestly? She didn’t mind. Henry was important to her, and she would do anything to help him. She saw Henry as a father figure, and she would do her best to be a good daughter for him.

Allison loved her father, and that was what mattered. 

**Author's Note:**

> So, hope you enjoyed this sweet little thing I wrote, feel free to leave comments and kudos!


End file.
